Back to Egoscue - Livin' the Good Life

Dec. 10th, 2010

02:05 pm - Back to Egoscue

I saw a 1950s black and white promotional ad for See's Candies on TV the other night. The women who were playing the See's Candies customers, dressed in early 50s style clothing, were standing up so erectly that it almost looked unnatural. They all had impeccable posture. I was shocked! I actually remember people standing like that back then! I've gotten so used to slouchiness over the years, that seeing people bent forward, with huge neck juts, looks normal. But, I have to admit that it looks UNATTRACTIVE! Well, Pete Egoscue (pronounced Ee-GAW-scue) would have something to say about this. He says that poor posture causes pain, pain, and more PAIN. All over the body. Due to recurring hip and neck pain lately, I've gone back to my Egoscue exercises. I've been at it for a couple of weeks now, and I'm already noticing a difference. Here is a picture of me today:

Notice that my right shoulder is slightly lower than my left shoulder, making my right arm appear a bit longer. My right hip is slightly elevated. My head is slightly tipped to the left. These are the things I'm working on from the front view. I'm assuming that my head tilt is due to compensating for the lowered right shoulder. The shoulder/hip misalignment is definitely part of the cause of the neck pain. I must say, though, that a year ago when I was doing these exercises in earnest, my misalignment was much more noticeable. My feet are pointing more or less straight ahead now, and that is an improvement. My right foot used to splay outward somewhat, which was tweeking my hip and giving me serious groin pain. The pain is much less now. I believe I'm making progress!

Here is my current profile:

This, again, is much improved from before. I used to lean forward quite a bit more than this so my center of gravity was over my toes, believe it or not. I think it was partly because I had such a dramatic neck jut that the weight of my head (about 10 pounds) was pulling me forward. I still need to move my head back more. This will help eliminate the leaning and also decrease the sway back. It takes a lot of muscles, constantly contracting, to counterbalance a head that feels like it's falling to the ground! And that equals PAIN.

So this is my update. I expect that in six months my posture should be nearly perfect. It takes a while to undo 40 years of bad posture. But, pain is the great motivator!

I just realized something. I always carried my children on my right hip. No wonder it's tweeked up a bit. Many years of walking with my right hip acting as a seat for a child took it's toll. Now I have to fix it.

I have to retract that last comment. I am right-handed, so I would have been carrying my children mostly on my left hip so I could use my right hand to do things! I remember switching back and forth alot, actually.

testing of commenting system

Hi I used to work For Pete Egoscue and now I have a practice in Park City Utah. Nice job getting back to your E-cises. I know it takes time but it is worth it. Make sure your glutes are working. Kneeling ankle Squeezes would be a great e-cise for you if you are not doing it already.Kneeling on the ground with a block between your ankles and squeezing it over and over again. This will help to bring your pelvis to neutral. If you would like any help please let me know. kyra@velocitypps.comKyra